How do you use your space?

[gettinaclue]

I have 3 1/2 acres and we are expanding the garden big time this year. I thought it was really big, it's less than 1/2 acre, but plenty big for me.

Other than that there is nothing else here as far as being SS. BUT I HAVE PLANS!!!

I'm gonna get me a chicken coop next year but I'm just agonizing over where to put it. We also want turkeys and hubby has always wanted some ducks so we'll get some of those as well. The goal is to butcher them and eat 'em.YUMMY

I'm gonna plant me some fruit trees! Apples, saturn peaches, cherries, and pears. I'm also thinking of concord grape vines.

Blackberries and blueberries grow wild here but I am still thinking of putting in some cultivated ones since the fruit is pretty substandard.

The strawberries are being put in this year in the garden.

I thought about keeping rabbits as well-right next to the chickens but read somewhere that they share diseases so I'm going to have to seperate them. I'm thinking keeping the rabbits for the fiber-to sell, possibly learn to spin-because I just can't bring myself to butcher them. We have a lot of wildlife here and you can hear them screaming in the woods when something happens. Sounds just like a baby crying and screaming and I can't hang with that.

DH wants to keep a cow, but I don't really want to mess with it when there are so many folks around here that raise them, why not just split a cow and pig with someone and process it?

I was also thinking of a goat but goats milk is out. So says the hubby. But I'm thinking instead to keep em for their fiber.

Ofcourse, they are all plans for the future. We'll just have to see have to see how it goes.

Wish me luck.

 

[freemotion]

Great plans!!! A couple thoughts....if you are just raising the poultry for meat, you can use a hoop house, get the little ones in the spring, and into the freezer by fall, no wintering over, and no permanent housing needed. Just predator-proof with electro-net or such.

Rabbits shriek when breeding, too. Could also be what you are hearing in the woods. My neighbor raised meat rabbits, I finally asked him what the awful noise was, sounded like they were killing each other! Just makin' babies!

Goat's milk? It is wonderful!!! No "goaty" taste if they don't get to browse or if you don't feed them strong scraps like cabbage. Mild food makes for mild milk.....kinda like home-raised rabbit, tastes like chicken, vs wild rabbit, very gamey tasting, because of what they eat. When I was a kid some of our rabbits escaped and lived in the yard until fall, when dad hunted them. The meat was dark and strong, unlike the white, mild meat of their siblings that did not escape. Same with goat's milk.

Goats take up little space and the kids are edible, if you can handle that (can't.....did as a kid, but I wasn't in charge of the decision-making then....wish I could, just can't) They cost very little to keep when they are not producing, too. I love them!

I cannot drink commercial milk, makes me very sick. I am now drinking my own goat's milk, raw. It is wonderful. Just got my cheese-making supplies in the mail today, can't wait to get my press built and get started on preserving the milk bounty as aged cheeses! My goat is giving a gallon a day. That is a reasonable amount for two people. I am selling her yogurt to close friends to defray the costs of keeping her with her increased demand for food.

If you can find someone who feeds their goats hay, not browse, and you can buy a quart of fresh milk, do a blind taste test with hubby, using commercial cow's milk. He WILL be able to tell the difference, because he will prefer the goat's milk! Everyone we did this with was shocked!

 

[gettinaclue]

Freemotion,

What is a hoop house? You mean like a chicken tractor? You've gotten my attention. We do want a few for layers and I had been thinking of getting a dual purpose breed (a mix of males and females -is that called a straight run? I can't remember).

I had no idea that they screamed during mating!!!! I read somewhere that they fell over, but I had no idea about the screaming LOL!

The thing with the goats is that they would have to free range. My goal is to break even - not have the animals I raise cost me more than I would normally pay for them at the store and with the cost of feed just going up and up, they would have to eat what's here for that to happen. So the goats milk is out.

I can grow most of what the chickens eat and the rabbits, I've done quite a bit of reading up on that the last couple of years and am set on getting comfrey 4 and 14.

I'm hopeful for making a little money on the fiber. I'm thinking satin angora rabbits and mohair goats. Maybe a pygora goat as well, we'll have to see. That's a lot of goats to feed.

I'm also thinking worms under the rabbit hutch to help out the compost situation. I only cold compost and I only have the one. I think I want one or two more so I can just turn it once a year and rotate it.

What are your thoughts? Suggestions experiences? I am all ears.

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

We have m/l 17 acres but we share the property with my parents though they do not keep any livestock or garden. We are planting about 2 acres in corn this year to help with animal feed cost.
We have 2 acres fenced in for the calf and 1 for a pony. We plan to fence in around 3 acres for some goats and a 1/2 acre for some freedom rangers. We have about 65 chickens now that free range.
We have a large garden about 50x 100 but will be doubling it this year. I plan to use our 1/3 acre yard for herbs and more veggies with a few flowers mixed in. We are planning on a cpl of hives this spring as well. I have a asparagus bed and a strawberry bed. I also have a green house and worm bed planned for this year.

We have 3 pigs and about 25 rabbits. I have plenty of room but I am trying to think how I can make the most of it. I plan to do some crop rotation and rotating the livestock so we don't exhaust our pasture. We will be planting some fruit trees mon or tue after the rain is over. We hope to plant a cpl of pears,apples,peach,figs,plums, and pecans.



Tankshill: I love path to freedom and freedom gardens!! Great folks and they have done some amazing things on thier property!! Even keep chickens,goats,rabbits and bees!!

 

[TanksHill]

 

[freemotion]

Freemotion,

What is a hoop house? You mean like a chicken tractor? You've gotten my attention. We do want a few for layers and I had been thinking of getting a dual purpose breed (a mix of males and females -is that called a straight run? I can't remember).

I had no idea that they screamed during mating!!!! I read somewhere that they fell over, but I had no idea about the screaming LOL!

The thing with the goats is that they would have to free range. My goal is to break even - not have the animals I raise cost me more than I would normally pay for them at the store and with the cost of feed just going up and up, they would have to eat what's here for that to happen. So the goats milk is out.

I can grow most of what the chickens eat and the rabbits, I've done quite a bit of reading up on that the last couple of years and am set on getting comfrey 4 and 14.

I'm hopeful for making a little money on the fiber. I'm thinking satin angora rabbits and mohair goats. Maybe a pygora goat as well, we'll have to see. That's a lot of goats to feed.

I'm also thinking worms under the rabbit hutch to help out the compost situation. I only cold compost and I only have the one. I think I want one or two more so I can just turn it once a year and rotate it.

What are your thoughts? Suggestions experiences? I am all ears.

Yes, I mean a tractor....simple to build, not too expensive. But not really winter-proof in many areas.

When you free-range, don't forget about predators. Goats are dinner for dogs and coyotes, and will range quite far. One of mine ended up in the neighbor's house when he left front and back doors open for air on a nice spring day, and my fencing was not completed. I didn't think she would wander too far from the horse, but she went exploring quite a distance! And by herself!

I predator-proofed my pasture with good fencing, worth every dime. It took me a few years to complete, one roll and a few posts at a time. Electronetting is a much cheaper option and will keep animals in and most predators out (hawks will fly in to get chicks, so keep them covered while small.)

There is a small but pricey market for goats' milk. I am getting $5 per quart for yogurt, I could get more, but it is just to friends and "not for human consumption.....but we eat it and it is delicious!" Not too many quarts will pay for a year's hay. I am working on a sprouting system for barley in my basement, and plan to be growing some green grass to supplement my dairy goat's hay by next winter. Now I feed slightly sprouted barley to increase the food value dramatically. More bang for your buck, pun intended!

If you can find a market for the goat hair, that can support them, too, or support a dairy animal for you. Let them earn their own keep as much as possible!!!

You can also harvest the worms from your compost for your chickens!

 

[TanksHill]

Free.... Why did you say you yogurt was "not for human consumption?" Is t a liability thing?

 

[Want2BFarmer]

I have 1/2 an acre in town but I don't have a driveway or garage so it seems bigger. I have fruit trees around the property but they always have mold on them. We are probably going to plant half the yard with a garden this year and we have 20 chickens coming the end of March for meat and probably more later on in the year. I hope to sell some produce this year since I am on a main road to help off set the cost of seeds. But I enjoy what I have

 

[gettinaclue]

Predators are a big concern for me. We have possum, fox, skunk, neighborhood dogs (one of our own as well) and DH says he has seen a few hawks.

What started me out on this whole journey was I wanted fruit trees. That's all, just some fruit trees, but wanted a natural nonchemical way to control bugs-mostly japanese beetles. They are such a big problem. I thought the chicken eggs and occasional offspring would be a good all round benefit for the freezer and would never have to buy food with them having bugs and greens. But now that I've done more homework, there's no way I can free range and not lose all my birds, especially since the fox have been THICK this past year. So free range is out and so is my natural pest control aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!! Not to mention, I have neighbors on both sides. But there are so many other benefits to this life style I have stumbled upon JUST FROM WANTING FRUIT TREES! That I just can't say "never mind" and forget it...because I'm bullheaded and want my fruit trees and now the chickens and goats etc. I even looked at having a llama or alpaca.

I read that there are a lot of moms out there that give their babies goats milk when they can't hang with reg cows milk and even sometimes soy milk. I took this to the table with DH and the benefits to our wallet with not having to go pay for 2 gallons of milk MINIMUN every week - that really adds up! But again, a no go to goats milk. I was very disappointed.

The cost of fencing is also very daunting but just like everything else...baby steps.

I will definately look more closely at the tractors. DH said one of his family members had one and it was to heavy to be easily moved and we might as well put up a coop, but I think maybe a small coop for the layers and a tractor for the meat birds? I'll have mull that over some. It seems kinda excessive as far as construction goes, but I may get some bug control after all!!!

More thinking thinking thinking and reading. Thanks Freemotion for your input.

I LOVE THIS SITE!!!

 

[me&thegals]

wanted a natural nonchemical way to control bugs-mostly japanese beetles. They are such a big problem.

Hey gettin--Have you heard of milky spore? It's natural, organic and gets sprinkled on the ground to kill beetle larvae. I haven't tried it yet but plan to. We have a very problematic beetle population here, too. We used the hormone traps last year. They caught 1000s upon 1000s, which we fed to the chickens, and kept reusing. But, I've heard they may attract more to your yard than you would have had without them... Anyway, maybe milky spore?